SpaceX plans to attempt the full recovery of the Starship orbital launch system next month. CEO Elon Musk stated that the company aims to catch both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship spacecraft using mechanical arms on the launch tower. This operation, if successful, would represent the first time an orbital launch vehicle has been completely recovered in history.
The Starship system consists of the Super Heavy first stage and the Starship upper stage. The vehicle stands between 120 and 124 meters tall with a 9-meter diameter and utilizes Raptor engines fueled by liquid methane and oxygen. The design relies on launch towers equipped with mechanical arms to catch the hardware mid-air upon its return to the launch site.
During the most recent launch, SpaceX successfully placed the spacecraft into orbit and deployed several dozen V3 Starlink satellites. However, the mission faced technical issues when one Raptor engine shut down prematurely. Consequently, the mission was shortened to 3 hours and 2 orbits instead of the planned 10 hours and 6 orbits. Both stages were lost at sea.
Musk acknowledged that success is not guaranteed for the upcoming attempt, though he considers a positive outcome more likely than not. The company maintains a schedule of additional Starship flight tests through the end of this year, with plans to accelerate the frequency of launches throughout the next year.
